One of MSU's 2013 basketball targets is off the board. Collin Hartman, who I just mentioned a few days ago, committed immediately after a visit to Indiana this weekend. Michigan State had not yet offered but Collin was in East Lansing for Midnight Madness last month as one of the major out-of-state visitors. Though the 2013 class in Indiana is not expected to be as deep as the 2012 one, Hartman is currently its consensus No. 1 player. He committed to Indiana along with Devin Davis, another 2013 Indiana standout who was also receiving MSU interest. With two of the top freshmen in the state (and nation) locked up, Cody Zeller recently committed, and now Davis and Hartman, Tom Crean is continuing to hit home run after home run in the recruiting world. Also, no one will be surprised if PG Yogi Ferrell commits to Indiana in the next couple of weeks. Crean is expected to focus his remaining attention on two 2012 wing players - Jeremy Hollowell and MSU recruiting man-of-the-moment Gary Harris.
Even though a point guard and post player seem like the priorities in what may be a small two-man class for MSU, the attention paid to Hartman is a sign that Izzo is open to taking a wing player in 2013 if it's the right guy. You can put Lansing Eastern's Steven Haney Jr. in that conversation as well. It's tough to call this a loss considering Izzo had not yet given Collin Hartman a full scholarship offer but MSU hasn't seen even a player of interest get away much recently. With only Jabari Parker holding an offer currently, we'll wait for Izzo's next move. For now, there's one less man to focus on.
Filed under: